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India’s largest crypto exchange, WazirX, becomes the latest victim of a massive heist, as hackers cart away over 5 trillion Shiba Inu (SHIB) and other digital assets.
Popular blockchain analytic platform Lookonchain called the public’s attention to the development in the hours leading up to press time.
According to Lookonchain, multiple crypto assets worth approximately $230 million were abnormally transferred from WazirX to an unknown address, 0x04b…91a88.
Update:#WazirX has ~$230M in assets stolen. Including:
5.43T $SHIB($102M)
15,298 $ETH($52.5M)
20.5M $MATIC($11.24M)
640.27B $PEPE($7.6M)
5.79M $USDT
135M $GALA($3.5M)
…‼️Please note that the hacker is selling these assets!https://t.co/1uOozAVeM1 https://t.co/ogtVSFITK9 pic.twitter.com/3vPmxqXwbL
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 18, 2024
Shiba Inu Ranks as Largest Asset Stolen from WazirX
Out of the total assets stolen, Shiba Inu is the biggest crypto by dollar value drained from WazirX. Lookonchain noted that the attackers moved 5,433,750,000,000 (5.43 trillion) SHIB out of the exchange. The 5.43 trillion SHIB tokens stolen from WazirX were worth $102.1 million at the time of the post.
Notably, leading crypto tracker Whale Alert also confirmed the large movement of 5.43 trillion SHIB from WazirX to an unknown wallet.
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 5,433,752,465,343 #SHIB (102,126,698 USD) transferred from #WazirX to unknown wallethttps://t.co/PKrskBc0GL
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) July 18, 2024
In addition to SHIB, the hackers also stole over 17 cryptocurrencies, including 15,298 ETH, 20.5 million MATIC, 240.27 billion PEPE, 5.79 million USDT, and 135.11 million GALA. Lookonchain noted that the hackers are currently dumping the assets.
As per the latest updates, the hacker has started selling Shiba Inu.
Note that #WazirX exploiter has started selling $SHIB!#WazirX exploiter has sold 35B $SHIB($618K) and currently holds 5.4T $SHIB($95.45M).https://t.co/nRHmm24ZSl pic.twitter.com/DRzmaIbiqH
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 18, 2024
Our Investigation
The hackers’ address is currently valued at $77.73 million, suggesting that the attackers have dumped $152.24 million worth of assets. Etherscan data confirms that Shiba Inu is among the dumped assets.
The data reveals that the attackers moved the stolen SHIB in multiple transactions. One of these transactions involved the movement of nearly 1 trillion SHIB, worth $17.5 million in the hours leading up to press time, to another address labeled WazirX Exploiter 2.
According to leading on-chain data analytics provider CryptoQuant, the stolen SHIB tokens could be sold for Ethereum anytime.
5.4T $SHIB has been taken from the WazirX exchange.
These assets are likely to be sold for #Ethereum at any time. pic.twitter.com/pI5qrKXA5w
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) July 18, 2024
SHIB Declines 9.1% in 24 Hours
In the meantime, the price of Shiba Inu has plummeted heavily over the past 24 hours. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that SHIB is down 9.10% over the past day to $0.00001750.
Shiba Inu is currently the worst performer in the daily charts among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
While this decline could be attributed to the broader market’s bearish trend, there are indications that the heist also played a part in SHIB’s dip.